I think there's an saying out there that goes something like, "The job of a director is to simply get out of the way." Brian DePalma thinks otherwise. His directing style is so ostentatious it's almost as if he's daring people to question him. It's as if he's saying, "This is my goddamn film and I'll do whatever I damn well please." That is what I love about Brian DePalma films; they are so uniquely his, bold, daring, ambitious, flamboyant and uniquely cool. I haven't seen all of his films but if I had to pick any one film of his to show off his style, it would have to be Blow Out.
John Travolta plays Jack, a movie sounds effect guy who is out one night recording various sounds when he witnesses a car crash off the road into a lake. He jumps into the water and rescues a woman in the car. The person that he couldn't save just happens to be the front runner in the presidential election. After listening to the recording he made that night, Jack is convinced that the loud bang he heard wasn't a tire blow out, but rather a gun shot. This was no accident; it was murder. Someone wanted the presidential candidate dead and Jack has to figure things out before he and the woman he rescued become targets themselves.
I've never seen a camera make as many big movements as this film. DePalma weaves his camera up and down serval stories, left and right a couple blocks, arriving right on time to see a character do something mundane like walking down a corner into a building. It seems like such a painstakingly choreographed shot to show such a simple task, yet it is makes it feel incredibly cinematic and dramatic. In another scene the camera sits in the middle of a room and just rotates 360 degrees for several minutes in one continuous shot as it records Jack frantically go over his recordings in his office. (There is a similar circling shot in Le Doulos that immediately popped into my mind, though probably coincidental.) There are tons of these shots that showcases DePalma's style and it is a real treat to just sit back and watch. These types of shots are obviously DePalma having fun with his technique but are also critical in enhancing the suspense and drama of the film. I also love it when directors reference other movies in their movies. It's like a little easter egg for moviegoers and pays homage to the works that inspired them. An example is the chase sequence when Jack has the girl wired while walking and talking with the bad guy. Jack follows behind them carrying this conspicuously cumbersome device. This sequence seems to be a direct reference to Touch of Evil but done in a way only DePalma could imagine, making the scene uniquely his own.
I really enjoyed Blow Out. There is some recency bias but it might very well be DePalma's best work (that I've seen). At the very least, it is the movie that epitomizes him the most.
Grade: A
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